Important Vigil For Honduran Family

The Dane County Courts are no longer safe for immigrant families seeking legal remedies in family court.

There will be a vigil tonight:

Where: at the court house
When: Monday, Feb 9th from 5pm to 6pm.
Immigrant community and allies prepare to follow up on this outrageous harassment against immigrant families.

Here’s the press release about the situation:

Contact Alex Gillis 608/345-9544, Yvonne Geerts 608/335-0357

IWU asks for immediate court commissioner’ s resignation

In this press release you will learn about:
• Last update on the Honduran mother of a autism boy arrested in a family court
• Who did call ICE
• Vigil for family justice in the family court

More light on the Honduras Family harassed by ICE

Yesterday, a Honduran mother (initials D.E.) went to family court for a minor process to remove her husband (now in Honduras) form her children custody. The female did not have a criminal record; neither is she right now in any charge, trial or any other issue related with justice.

When she approached the Family Court she was asked to talk with some officers who informed her that she has an immigration warrant from 1996 for a court date that she did not show up, the Mather of 3 (2 1-year- twins, and an 7 years old autism boy) never got the court notification. She was put into local jail under ICE custody.
When the Immigrant Workers Union learnt about the case referred the Honduran mother to a local conscious lawyer (S.T.) who did all the processes to get her out of jail under supervision. The Honduran woman spent the night in jail and yesterday morning she was released from local jail handcuffed under ICE Custody.

When ICE agents drove the woman to her house, her mother (SE) and brother (JE) opened the door to welcome her relative, then ICE agents decided to get into and take over the house. With the excuse to get D.E. to sign some paperwork. Once ICE was in the house they rejected the intervention of several social workers, they rejected the IWU petition for a Spanish translator and proceeded to raid the house or legal assistance, they called relatives in the address book and keep forcing the family to collaborate with them or they would handcuff all the family at this time: the mother, her mother and her brother and the 3 kids and put them in jail.
Finally, ICE agents decided to arrest the grandmother of the 3 kids as they could not arrest the mother because early lawyer intervention.

Despite the tens of messages of support of the family and demanding for local leadership to do something about this terrible situation, little or nothing has been improved. Scott McDonald and Sheriff Mahoney have been calling ICE to advocate for the two women, however for what we know the grand mother is still Dodge County Prison.

Despite the rumors of good news announcing the release of one of the women, the facts shows that it was the lawyer who released the first woman and the situation is quality escalated as right now, the mother is release under supervision, the grand mother is in prison and the brother is cited to a future immigration trail. ICE fulfilled through force and deception their original goal with is to engross their capture and deportation numbers, last year close to 200.000 people.

IWU was able to contact the mother D.E. who is just dealing with a very difficult situation, she said upset “my older kid (with autism) was dramatically affected when his father was deported, even today he wakes up in the middle in the night asking for him, if I got deported they are killing both, my son and me, in my country there is not program related with autism at least you can afford a private institution that is way over my possibilities, the kid can stay in USA but he will not survive without me it is going to kill him, and it is killing me, I cannot sleep in the last two days I do not what to do, who to call, what to expect”

IWU DEMANDS JASON J HANSON’ RESIGNATION
Sources inside court pointed that apparently Commissioner Hanson had contacted ICE about our Honduran mother prior to her hearing before his Court. This confirms the turn of local justice and enforcement on the immigration issue. In this case, we do not think Sheriff Mahoney is responsible as he does not manage the Court. However, it is the same tactics, as we can see a mother of 3 with no criminal record being the plaintiff for a family matter ended up screened by a local court staff and reported to ICE, exactly the same than in the book process in Dane County Jail.
One local lawyer was very clear on the issue, “why would you go as a mother to claim child support for maybe $200 per month when actually you can be arrested and then you have to pay me $5000 to take your case, it is better to lay low and not to show up in the downtown area as ICE is everywhere”

Court Commissioner JASON J HANSON, Jason.Hanson@ wicourts. gov, is suspected to been profiling Latino names and screening in the immigration warrant system and notifying to ICE. We demand his resignation and full investigation on what, how and why this procedure is in place. Mean while, for IWU opinion there is not enough information to be sure that cases like DE mother of 3 case will not happen again and therefore we call all immigrant to be extremely cautious to initiate any court procedure and let alone to present in the court house, recommending to get a lawyer assistance and using if possible a writing trial instead attend to court, when the law permit it.
Vigil for Family Justice on the Family Court

Immigrant community and allies prepare to follow up this outrageous harassment against immigrant families. IWU and other groups will organize a vigil on the court house this coming Monday, Feb 9th from 5pm to 6pm. And major actions are schedule in the next weeks as more information develops and the community decides how to address this lack of respect to the human rights and family values.
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